Duke the Old Engine
Duke the Old Engine, later retitled Duke the Lost Engine, is the sixteenth episode of the Skarloey Railway Stories miniseries. Plot It is a cold wintry night on the Island of Sodor and the howling wind keeps the engines in the shed awake. Toby decides that what the engines need is to listen to a story. Duck chimes in that the story must have a happy ending. Thomas tells the others a story his driver had told him recently: In the story, there were three engines who lived on their own railway. Their names were Duke, Stuart and Falcon. Duke was the oldest of the three and had been named after the Duke of Sodor. Duke felt very proud of this and decided it was his responsibility to keep the younger engines in order. While other engines came and went, Duke outlasted all of them. Stuart and Falcon gave Duke the nickname "Granpuff" and were very fond of him, but did sometimes tire of hearing about his Grace and would occasionally tease him. Duke warned Stuart and Falcon one day that if they did not behave, they would end up like Smudger. The young engines were curious about Smudger, so Duke told them about him. Smudger was a conceited engine, who ran roughly and often derailed, spilling his loads. Duke tried to warn Smudger, but Smudger simply did not care and laughed at Duke. But he quickly stopped laughing when the manager told Smudger he was going to be useful one way or another. Smudger did not laugh at that and from then on, the only running Smudger did was as a generator behind the shed. He never went on the rails again. Stuart and Falcon began behaving better and all three remained friends for years. However, this all ended when hard times came. The mines that the engines depended on for work closed and the railway soon followed. As a result, the engines were all put up for sale. Stuart and Falcon were bought together, but no one wanted to buy an old engine like Duke. Stuart and Falcon promised Granpuff that they would find another railway for him to run on. Duke's crew oiled him one last time, then put tarpaulins on him snugly in his shed and bid him a final goodbye as they left to find new jobs. Duke then went to sleep, waiting for the day he would be able to run again. As time went by, torrents of rain washed soil down from the mountains and trees and hedges grew over the shed. No one would know from looking that a small shed was there, or an engine asleep inside it. Back to the present, Thomas stops there with his story and Percy is upset that it does not have a happy ending. Thomas tells Percy that there is, but the ending will have to wait for another night. The next night, the engines return to the shed and ask Thomas to continue the story of Duke. Thomas then reminds them of the story thus far. While Duke was in his shed for many years, he was certainly not forgotten and recently a team of people visited the Fat Controller intending to find and rescue Duke. The team was prepared with maps and knew where to look, so the Fat Controller agreed. Everyone set off to the mountains in a train and began the long search. As the days passed, the search grew harder and there was no sign of Duke, but the rescuers were just as determined to find him. Finally, the search ended, quite by accident, when one of the team members fell through the roof of Duke's shed, having not realised he was standing on it and age had weakened the roof to where it could collapse. Duke woke up and asked the men if they were vandals, but they assured him that they are there to rescue him and reunite him with Stuart and Falcon. After digging him out of the shed, they took Duke to his new home, the Skarloey Railway. Falcon and Stuart, now renamed Sir Handel and Peter Sam, were ready to greet their old friend, but they see that he is asleep in the shed. They hush each other, but it is too late as they have already disturbed him, so he complains that they woke him up and started to tell them about the older days. The two engines laughed at this and told Duke that they were all due to go back to work tomorrow and they could keep Duke in order. Duke pretended to be cross, but he could not be happier to be back at work with his friends. And that is the end of Thomas' story. All the engines agree that it was a great tale and how glad they are that it really did have a happy ending. The next morning, Percy is feeling very impatient. He has a new coat of paint and is very eager to show it off and complains that his driver is late. Gordon and James remind him the driver is not late, rather Percy is awake early. Thomas assures Percy it will soon be time for work, but warns him not to be impatient otherwise he may run into danger and Duke will not be there to save them. The other engines are surprised to hear their hero mentioned and Thomas decides to tell them a story his driver told him... Long ago on the Mid Sodor Railway, back when Sir Handel was still called Falcon and Peter Sam was still called Stuart, the two worked alongside Duke. One day the manager came along and told Falcon, who was still new and had a lot to learn, that he was pleased with his work but now wanted the engine to learn about the Mountain Road, a difficult part of the line. The next day, Falcon will get a new coat of paint, then go on the Mountain Road with Duke to double-head a train. Falcon was not impressed that he was having to work with Duke, who he considered a fusspot. The next day, Duke told Falcon he would head the train since the Mountain Road is tricky to travel over. Falcon refused and insists on going in front, telling Duke he did not want the view blocked. Duke warned Falcon not to admire the view since he needs to watch the track and also tried to slow them down to keep them safe, but Falcon ignored Duke thinking he was fussing over nothing. Soon the engines approached a curved tunnel, which Falcon does not like. He rushed through and the journey initially seemed normal, but has a near-disaster encounter just after the exit; Falcon derailed and dangles precariously over a precipice. Duke held on to Falcon for dear life, as their crews quickly worked to anchor the two engines to the line. However, Duke's fireman found more problems; Duke was low on water. A workman's cottage was nearby and all the passengers assisted in fetching water and refilling Duke's tank. Eventually he managed to build up enough steam and worked hard to pull Falcon back onto the line. The manager was waiting for the train at the top station and when Duke and Falcon arrived the passengers told him that Duke was a hero who would not let go of Falcon, who thanked Duke for saving him, especially as he had been so rude to him. Duke was modest and told Falcon that it would have been a shame if his new coat of paint had been spoilt. Later, Duke is not feeling well and needs a rest. His crew clear his tubes and Stuart arrives and jokes if he is short of puff, but Duke says it is routine maintenance. But Stuart suggests that he and Falcon keep him in working order in case of any breakdowns. Duke pays no attention, and begins to leave. That evening, Duke, unable to stay cross any longer, begins taking his passengers home. Most of the journey starts out all smoothly until they come to a hill where he starts wheezing with valves leaking steam. Duke finds it not easy but still manages to get to the station. Falcon and Stuart arrive to help him. The three engines then split up at the next station so Falcon can take Duke's train to the docks so Duke and Stuart can take Falcon's train home. Stuart is delighted, bragging he may be rescuing Duke from any trouble but Duke is not quite out of steam and makes a grand effort, despite the nasty sound of his valves. Duke and his driver start puffing as soon as they reach the hill. After arriving at the top station, a boy thinks that two engines are not needed for the train but his father tells his son that Duke had to help Stuart as a result of a breakdown. Stuart becomes furious and he vanishes in a cloud of steam. Duke then teases Stuart that it was no good and he can't win. Characters * * * * * * * * Duke * Falcon * Stuart * Smudger * The Mid Sodor Railway Manager * * Rheneas * Duncan * Bertie * Jeremiah Jobling * Duke of Sodor * Refreshment Lady * Stephen Hatt * Mrs. Kyndley * Farmer Trotter Trivia * This episode is an adaptation of the fourth season episodes Granpuff, Sleeping Beauty, Bulldog, and You Can't Win. * Stock footage from Smudger Returns is used. 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